Kettle Falls Campground — Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area

The Kettle Falls Campground sits on the Upper Columbia River in a popular recreational area.

The campsites are not very private but a few offer stunning views of the river. The campground is busy on the weekends. If you’re looking for peace and quiet try camping during the week.

There are no services except for a few vault toilets and a dump station. However, there’s a full service marina next door. The marina is a popular fishing and water sport destination in the summer.

The campground is clean and well maintained. The sites are small so parking a big rig will be a hassle.

Overall, the Kettle Falls Campground is a great place to access the Upper Columbia River. However, there is little privacy and it gets busy on the weekends.

After our second visit to the CG in three weeks I would say that this place is an esp great place to camp in early spring when there are less campers and a quieter experience. Maybe best of all there are no bugs out tonspeak of yet. The sites are close together so I can see how in the busy season it would.be a less appealing experience. Bottom line though it is a nice spot. The roads are decently paved, the spots are clearly marked, the bathrooms are clean and nice, and there is good access to hydrants for water. Three to four spots per loop have great views of the Columbia River, but to get to the waters edge you have to decent maybe 20 feet down. It seems kids love to ride their bikes around the paved loops for entertainment. Boat launch is nearby and so us Kettle Falls for an ice cream run. When we called people were friendly and honored quiet hours.

Nice campground along Columbia River. Spacious sites with plenty of room and cleared out under trees. Marina very close to launch boats and within driving of a number of nice trails. Only complaint was the number of bugs made it less enjoyable outside when it was warm. Visited nearby Sherman Peak trail & Columbia Mt. Trials

This is one of many Park Service CGs on Lake Roosevelt. There is a day use area, group camp, and marina all down the road from CG. Your experience will depend on time of day, season, crowding, site, etc. We stayed 10 days after arriving in area & finding everything else full. We had to move mid-way into visit from site 39 loop 2 to 70 loop 3. Camp host told me 39 was best site in CG - it was, though I got it by accident for 5 days without realizing. 70 was only average. 39 is huge lakefront sandy site. Host this summer was amazing & helpful. Sites near entrance to loops were more unlevel. This year all loops are reservation only. During day in week its quiet & emptier, & fills & louder till 10pm. Weekends very busy! Sites are all paved & most are small yet many RVs are huge (& people bring boats & large trucks) making driving thru loops hard on weekends. There were LOTS of kids on weekends. Interior sites are shaded (low solar collection). The road runs near each site so every diesel truck is near your camper window & every person walking by is near your site/window (this was a virus concern on 70 especially weekends). I could hear the paper mill - not an issue in RV - would be a issue in tent. There were many generators at all times and since it's a loop it can sound like you are surrounded by generators at busy times.

Clean bathrooms, no showers, fire pits, dispersed water spigots, limited access to the water for swimming. We prefer little to no amenities for camping but a crowd of friends that meet annually were unable to get the usual spot so this was the compromise. Busy, noise did calm down by 10 but be prepared for babies crying, dogs barking and a few campers not noticing the time and enjoying themselves. I can see where many campers find this place better than we did... but we prefer no amenities to have less people around. It is well maintained and it was obvious from the regular ranger patrols and maintenance patrols rules were followed and campground well maintained.

The drive into this area is absolutely beautiful. Campground is large, with at least 3 loops. The campground itself is very clean. We saw rangers checking up and driving thru at least 6x through out day and evening. There are flush toilets and spigots throughout the loops. Bathrooms had toilet paper and hand sanitizer.

We stayed in loop 3, spot 61. It was smaller compared to other spots. This campground is big so there isn’t a ton of privacy and spots are close together. You can hear pretty much everyone’s conversations around you. Lots of RVs and families with kids. Lots of sites with dogs, so anytime people did walks with their dog, a symphony of barking dogs would start. Bring earplugs.

First night in, mosquitos were absolutely terrible. Literally swirling around us as we put up the tent. Neighbors were loud past midnight, and there was construction noise over night (woke us up around midnight and 2am).

Second night, still had noisy neighbors but these didn’t stay up as late as the ones from previous night. Mosquitos were not as bad. There was no overnight construction noise.

There are some nice hikes nearby, just be sure to plan accordingly as it gets quite warm.

Overall, while the lake was nice, it was not a place for me considering how busy and noisy it was. I did appreciate how well maintained it is though.

Took my three young kids here for an overnighter. Stayed at loop 3, site 63. The view was fantastic, and once the kids were settled in bed I thoroughly enjoyed a book while the sun set over the mountains and lake. There are multiple sources of water in campground, so you’re never more than a short walk away. The bathrooms were very clean (granted, in the season of Covid they should be), as was the campground itself. The sites themselves where a little closer together than I prefer and that is really the only knock against it. Oh- and water access, considering that it is on the lake, was less than ideal, especially with small kids. The campground is 20 or so vertical feet above the water line and it is a steep path to the water. Easier access is a drive or long walk away.

I have visited this campground last summer, it was pretty full, but they have access to a great little marina area. I camped there 2 weeks ago and it was very clean and quiet. Only a few other campers. We had a great view of the lake. In the off season there was no accessible water, there are bathrooms for sumner, but vaults in off season. Only $9 a night in off season. $18 in the regular season.

Great boat launch. House boats and boats available for rent in the summer, there is a marina store available with food and snacks as well.

New tables, fire grates on all the pits. There is also an ampitheater where they do events and lectures.

There used to be a town where the lake is. There is a great walking tour with signs.

Paid $18 per night but starting October 1st the fee is reduced. I would check the website. Great for fishing. Overlooks lake roosevelt!

This campsite is very well priced and the water is very clear to swim in (somewhat cold). My only complaint is that there is a lot of mosquitoes but it's not a problem if you bring a lot of bug spray. Gorgeous place.